Now that he has rewritten the Texas A&M-Commerce record book, Hudson Hall has set his sights on topping another all-time list.

Hall’s school-record vault of 16 feet, 4.5 inches at the indoor Texas Tech Open puts him only third in the Hall rankings behind his father, Randy, who won the 1980 NCAA indoor and outdoor titles while competing at Texas A&M, and older brother, Hunter, who was an All-American at Virginia Tech.

“We have a family competition to see who can jump the highest,” Hall said. “Right now, my dad has the record and right behind him is my brother. I just passed up my uncle with this last PR. I’m trying to move up.”

The fact that Hudson Hall is competing at all less than a year after sustaining a frightening injury during a workout is an accomplishment in itself. While preparing for the 2017 outdoor season as a redshirt-freshman at NCAA Division I Liberty, the former Gregory-Portland standout landed awkwardly on the pad during a practice vault.

“I fell on the right side of the pad and twisted my foot up to my tibia and it just broke,” Hall said.

The injury was more difficult for Hall to overcome mentally than physically.

“My dad and brother understood what I was going through,” Hall said. “I don’t know that the fear has completely gone away, but it’s near negligible. I know my leg is stronger now than it has ever been.”

After healing from his injury, Hall decided he needed to leave Liberty. Texas A&M-Commerce head track and field coach George Pincock heard Hall was looking for a new school through one of his assistants, Joe Davis, who competed at Virginia Tech with Hall’s brother.

“When Hudson was looking to make a change during the summer, his family reached out to us to see if this would be an option,” Pincock said.

Hall said he began to immediately see improvement after arriving at Commerce and working with Davis, who also an All-American pole vaulter at Virginia Tech.

“It came down to coaching,” Hall said. “I didn’t exactly have a coach my second year at Liberty. Having a coach who knew what he was talking about and knew how to plan for what I was trying to accomplish has been the difference.”

Davis was able to make some technical tweaks that have Hall getting the most out of his ability.

“I wasn’t getting above the bend on the pole,” Hall said. “Essentially, I wasn’t riding the wave of the pole so it could get me higher.”

Hall’s previous best before Feb. 3 was a vault of 15-9 during the 2017 indoor season.

“I was really excited,” Hall said. “I felt like I was stuck on 15 feet, 15-6 for a while. To finally break the 16-foot threshold was a really good feeling. There is no greater feeling than accomplishing something you’ve never done before.”

“I think there’s a lot more that he’s going to do,” Pincock said. “It wasn’t much of a surprise because, technically, he does a lot of things right. It was just a matter of us getting him some reps in a competitive environment. He’s one of those guys who gets a little bit better each week.”

Hall, whose grandfather, Charlie, began the family college pole-vaulting legacy at Southwest Texas State, went 16 feet Saturday at the Pittsburg State Gorilla Open. It was the second time this indoor season he has posted a provisional NCAA Division II qualifying mark.

“There was a point after my injury where I thought my career was over,” Hall said. “But I never wanted to give it up, because this has been such a big part of my life.”

THE HUDSON HALL FILE

2016-17: Went a personal-best 15 feet, 9 inches during the indoor season. ... Didn't compete during the outdoor season due to injury.

2015-16: Redshirted.

High School: Cleared a personal-best 15 feet to take sixth place in Class 5A at the state meet as a senior at Gregory-Portland.

Personal: Son of Vernon and Alicia Jo Hall.

TEN OTHERS TO WATCH

Following are other former Coastal Bend standouts competing at the collegiate level:

BASEBALL

Texas A&M-Kingsville senior pitcher Lee May Gonzalez (Calallen): Threw a seven-inning shutout while striking out four and allowing three hits in a 4-0 win over Southwest Baptist.

MEN'S BASKETBALL

Western New Mexico junior forward Jon-Reese Woodson (Carroll): Had seven points and six rebounds in an 84-80 Lone Star Conference win over Eastern New Mexico. Scored a team-best 14 points and added six rebounds in a 66-49 LSC loss to Tarleton State. Averaging 7.4 points and 5.1 rebounds per game for the Mustangs (4-19, 1-13).

Midwestern State senior guard Jasmine Richardson (Flour Bluff): Tallied 11 points with three steals in a 78-67 Lone Star Conference loss to West Texas A&M. Averaging 7.0 points and 3.4 rebounds per game with a team-best 61 assists and 26 steals for the Mustangs (12-10, 9-7).

UT-Tyler junior forward Bianca Valderrama (Incarnate Word Academy): Came off the bench to score 15 points and grab six rebounds in a 65-58 American Southwest Conference loss to UT-Dallas. Had 10 points and eight rebounds in a 76-69 ASC victory over the University of the Ozarks. Averaging 8.5 points and 5.3 rebounds per contest for the Patriots (15-8, 11-5).

SOFTBALL

Texas A&M International junior outfielder Cassie Cannon (Riviera): Went 10-for-18 with four runs scored and two RBI in the first five games of the Angelo State McCorkle Challenge. Entered Sunday batting .444 (16-of-36) with seven runs scored, four RBI and four stolen bases for the Dustdevils (2-8).

MEN’S SWIMMING & DIVING

Boston University freshman Ryan Chang (Ray): Finished sixth in the 50-yard freestyle in a personal-best 21.66 seconds at the Boston Winter Open.